Skip to main content

The River Is Waiting

About the Book

The River Is Waiting

From Wally Lamb, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two Oprah Book Club picks --- SHE'S COME UNDONE and I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE --- comes the propulsive story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable.

Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that’s before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart. Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model.

Buoyed by them and by his mother’s enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation still might be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

The River Is Waiting
by Wally Lamb

  • Publication Date: June 10, 2025
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Hardcover: 480 pages
  • Publisher: S&S/Marysue Rucci Books
  • ISBN-10: 1668006391
  • ISBN-13: 9781668006399